Unit of Inquiry

We kicked off our new unit with a provocation activity where students were randomly divided into two groups. One group enjoyed fun activities while the other was given extra work and restrictions. The goal was to help students reflect on what it feels like to be treated unfairly. In our discussion, they shared feelings and words such as unfair, justice, and equality. Later, the groups swapped roles so everyone experienced both perspectives. Students then reflected further on the idea of conflict and disagreement and discussed different strategies they could use to resolve conflicts in positive ways.

Next Week: Students will begin learning about the Peace Act and explore how it connects with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. They will investigate ways people can contribute to peace in their communities and beyond. 

Central idea: The Peace Act supports fairness, safety, and respect in society.

Specified Concepts: Causation, Responsibility, Perspective

Lines of inquiry: 

• Conflict resolution

• How the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) support peace.

• Roles of organisations (e.g., the United Nations) in promoting peace

Learner Profile: Caring, Reflective, Principled

Mathematics

In Math, students revisited concepts of place value learned in Grade 3. After that demonstrated their understanding by reading, writing, and explaining numbers up to 1 million, using manipulatives such as base-ten blocks and place value charts to visualise and represent the numbers. 

Next Week: Students will deepen their knowledge of place value as they learn how to compare and order numbers, continuing to use hands-on tools to support their understanding. 

Literacy

In literacy, students explored informative texts by watching a short video about the platypus. They shared observations, asked questions, and wrote about the topic through writing. Students also reflected on interesting facts and considered their audience, helping us understand their current writing skills as we prepare to dive deeper into informative texts. 

Next week: Students will explore a variety of informative texts to analyse their features. They will look at how writers use headings, illustrations, and multimedia to help readers understand information. 

 Home Learning

Each Friday, activities will be shared via SeeSaw, including weekly spelling words. Students are expected to return their completed home learning by the following Friday. This can be submitted in one of three ways: directly on SeeSaw, as a physical copy, or in a home learning journal (which we can provide if preferred).

In addition, we highly recommend that students read every day at home. Daily reading builds fluency, strengthens comprehension, and nurtures a lifelong love of books.

Thank you for supporting your child in developing positive and consistent learning habits.

Math
Students identify place value through the expanded form. Can they find the missing number?

 Literacy
Students read the passage about the International Day of Peace and answer the questions. For grammar, students focus on capitalisation. Can they rewrite the sentence in the correct way?

Unit of Inquiry (UOI)
For out Sharing The Planet unit all about the Peace Act, students will prepare small creative items to share with their peers, each carrying a positive peace message. They will have two weeks to complete this. Examples include bookmarks with kind words, origami with messages of friendship, cards with kind messages, or bracelets symbolizing hope and respect.

This activity is designed to be informal and respectful, encouraging students to spread kindness and positivity in simple, meaningful ways. We look forward to seeing the thoughtful creations they bring in!

Arabic/ Islamic
Our weekly newsletter provides a comprehensive overview of the content covered in class, including upcoming topics, Home Learning activities, and interactive resources to support your child's learning. We encourage you to check the newsletter regularly to stay connected and engaged in your child's educational journey.

Arabic and Islamic Team

Important Announcements / Upcoming Events

Monday, 8th September - House Assembly - Students can wear their house colour. 

CAT4 Assessments

We will be conducting our CAT4 assessments with the children on Wednesday 10th September. CAT4 provides a rounded profile of pupil ability so we can target support, provide the right level of challenge and attempt to make informed decisions about pupils’ progress. It provides the teacher with details on the strengths and areas for development across four main areas: Verbal Reasoning – the ability to express ideas and reason through words is essential to subjects with a high language content, and the most obvious skill picked up by traditional assessment. Non-verbal Reasoning – problem-solving using pictures and diagrams; skills which are important in a wide range of school subjects, including maths and science-based subjects. Spatial Reasoning – the capacity to think and draw conclusions in three dimensions, needed for many STEM subjects. Quantitative Reasoning – the ability to use numerical skills to solve problems, applicable well beyond mathematics. You cannot study for this assessment so please do not do anything extra with your child to 'prepare'. The assessments are taken on a device and in an age appropriate way. However, please do make sure they have a good sleep the night before, have a good breakfast before school, their device is charged and reassure them that there is nothing to worry about and just to try their best, we are always very proud of them all.  

Swimming

Swimming starts in the week of September 1st. 

Please ensure your child brings:

• Swimming costumes (should be dark/navy/black in colour)

• Swimming cap (Dwight-branded preferred or dark colour)

• Swimming goggles

• Towel

• Water bottle

• Swimming footwear (crocs, sliders, or flip flops)

If your child is unable to swim, a doctor’s medical note is required.

4A Swimming Day: Thursday

4B Swimming Day: Monday

4C Swimming Day: Wednesday

IPads and headphones

A reminder that students should bring their iPads fully charged to school every day. If your child does not yet have an iPad, please ensure they have one as soon as possible, as we will be completing some baseline assessments on them next week.

If available, students may also bring a set of headphones that can be kept at school for regular use.

Thank you for your support in helping students be prepared for learning each day.

Weekly IB Achievers

Dear families,

We are delighted to share with you our “IB Achiever Of The Week” Certificates. Each week, one student from every Homeroom class (Pre K - Grade 5) will be recognized for excelling in one of the ten IB Learner Profile Attributes. These certificates celebrate each child’s individual ‘wow’ moments.

Awards will be presented during Monday’s weekly assemblies. For any questions, please contact your division's Dean of Students:

Pre K - KG 2: Megan Hughes (mhughes@dwight.ae) 

Grade 1 - 5: Roel Roberts (rroberts@dwight.ae) 

 🎶Join the Lower School Band! 🎶

Dear Parents, 

We are excited to announce the very first  Dwight School Dubai Lower School Band! 

If you are passionate about performing and play drums, piano, guitar, bass guitar, or love to sing, we would love to hear from you.

📩 To audition, please email Mrs Bertha Silot at bsilot@dwight.ae.

🕒 Band sessions will take place every Wednesday from 7:30 – 8:10 am.

Don’t miss this chance to be part of something new and exciting!